1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for imparting rotational movement to a work object and the like and more particularly to such an apparatus which is adapted to impart rotational movement to a cotton picker drum having a doffer assembly and which is adapted to transmit force to such an assembly to urge it to rotate in a predetermined direction for the purpose of extracting foreign objects which interfere with the operation of the cotton picker drum; the apparatus being relatively inexpensive to construct and maintain and which affords the optimum conditions for rotating variously dimensioned doffer assemblies and the like in a wide range of operative environments.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
As is well known, the prior art is replete with variously designed cotton picker drums which are mounted on cotton harvesters for the purpose of extracting cotton fibers from the open bolls of cotton plants. As a general matter, the cotton picker drum units typically have two doffer assemblies and a spindle picker bar mounted for rotational movement internally of each of the picking drum units.
From time to time during the routine operation of a cotton harvester, operators have by accident, oversight, or negligence operated these devices in such a fashion that foreign objects have become lodged in the cotton picking drum units. More particularly, it has from time to time been the case that an operator or other field hand has accidentally become impaled internally of the cotton picking drum units when they have been engaged in clearing obstructions from the picking drum unit or performing assorted maintenance tasks in the vicinity of such subassembly.
In these unfortunate, and potentially fatal situations, rescue personnel have faced a dilemma concerning their possible courses of action, inasmuch as a commonly accepted approach for extracting these victims was not available. This has been attributable, in large measure, to the assorted mechanical configurations that commercially available cotton harvesters have taken. In some of these situations, rescue personnel, police, or others have approached the problem of extracting a victim from their perilous position internally of the cotton picking drum unit by prying open or otherwise disassembling such subassembly. As should be understood, this procedure occasionally has required a time of three to four hours and a variety of assorted tools. As could be expected, this method of extraction was quite undesirable inasmuch as the time delay was from time to time fatal to the stricken victim. Moreover, if the obstruction that was stuck in the cotton picker drum unit was an inanimate object, this approach to remove the obstruction often contributed to an increase in the mechanical down time for the cotton harvester involved.
Farmers and rescue personnel have developed and currently employ a common approach to address the problem of extracting a victim or other object out of the cotton picker drum assemblies with increased speed. To accomplish this task force is applied to the doffer assembly to turn it backwards thus permitting the removal of the injured person or other obstructions lodged in the device. While this has now become the newly accepted method of extraction, it has not proven to be a completely satisfactory answer to the problem of removing a victim or other obstruction rapidly from a cotton picker drum unit inasmuch as rescue personnel and others have had no single readily available tool which conveniently could be employed on all makes and models of cotton harvesters. Thus rescue personnel and others were required to carry a variety of conventional hand tools in the event they were called upon to extract a victim or other obstruction from any number of assorted models and designs of cotton harvesters.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have an apparatus for imparting rotational movement to a work object and the like; and more particularly to an apparatus which mounts an adjustable capture assembly which selectively engages and transmits force to a doffer assembly for the purpose of imparting rotational movement thereto in a predetermined direction.